(Image: Tom Red/Private Media)
(Image: Tom Red/Private Media)

It’s a phrase that would cause the bravest of souls to break out in a cold sweat: “Texts read in court.” The defamation proceedings in Sydney’s Federal Court, brought by mining magnate and political chaos agent Clive Palmer against WA Emperor Premier Mark McGowan have mostly been a profoundly stupid waste of everyone’s time, something of a relief compared to the year’s other news. Highlights so far have included Palmer’s stated belief that McGowan could straight up murder him without prosecution under the laws WA introduced to prevent him collecting compensation for billions in royalties from a mining proposal.

Some of yesterday’s text message revelations were in keeping with that: we got McGowan calling Palmer the “worst Australian who is not in jail” and WA Attorney-General John Quigley letting McGowan know that he was “not making love in the sweet hours before dawn, instead worrying how to defeat Clive 😀 :D”, which, look, thanks for that. We also learned, with dreary predictability, that a lot of private correspondence featured cheap shots at Palmer’s weight.

But the day’s proceedings also illustrate a lot about how power works in this country in the form of the chummy texts between McGowan and Kerry Stokes, proprietor of The West Australian — the only daily newspaper in the state he runs.

Before McGowan introduced the legislation, a matter of urgency, he ran it past Stokes:

Kerry, we’ve just introduced legislation to block a claim by Clive Palmer against the state of WA for $28 billion. The claim was currently in arbitration and was based on two decisions [former premier] Colin Barnett made in 2012 and 2014. Barnett rejected a proposal by Palmer to develop the Balmoral South mine. The risk is too great … obviously he won’t be happy. I’ll call to discuss.

This happened just before Quigley gave the legislation its second reading in WA Parliament, and is noteworthy given the texts between McGowan and Quigley regarding the need for utter secrecy around the laws. Three days later, after the laws passed, Stokes got in contact:

Mark, well done. I think no-one else could have achieved the legislation in the speed you did. Reckon the insect heads should make a telethon sales item. People are with you! Kerry.

McGowan responded by thanking Stokes for the blitz of savage front pages the West had recently run against Palmer: 

Thanks Kerry I was asked about those marvellous front pages today, and I said, ‘I think The West has gone a bit soft’. I appreciate the support enormously… All the mealy-mouthed tutt-tutting by some people about Palmer’s ‘rights’ makes me sick.

McGowan, under questioning, said by that he meant the commentary on Sky News had made him sick. This illustrates one of the advantages McGowan has in his one-paper town — he only has to pretend one elderly billionaire is his best friend.

Stokes has said since the revelations that he has no editorial input into The West and had nothing to do with the front pages in question. And of course, things have not been exclusively rosy between McGowan and The West.